Pursuing
a long-time interest, I started
backpacking four years ago, beginning with day-hiking and single
overnights. Currently I’m mostly a ‘weekend warrior’, hiking and
backpacking mainly in the hills and valleys of West Virginia, but have
started
a project to section hike the Appalachian Trail (AT), accruing a little
over
200 mi (300 km) in the last two years. My usual shelter is a
hammock, but
occasionally I use a tent. In general my backpacking style is
lightweight and
minimalist and I try to cut as much pack weight as I can without
sacrificing
warmth, comfort, or safety.

Product Description:

The Honey Stinger energy bars are
available in four flavors, and I have been furnished two of each flavor
for testing. The manufacturer website and a fact sheet provided
with the bars indicate they contain 30% honey, 10g of soy protein, 23
vitamins and minerals, and whole grains. Each package contains a
small label to the side of the nutrition facts that states it contains
peanuts, seeds, & other nuts. Each label also lists the
ingredients, net weight, variety, a short advertising slogan (we use
it, you should too), lists key benefits (23 minerals & vitamins,
soy protein, high in calcium, tastes great), and has a use by date, as
well as a list of activities (run, ski, wrestle, fish, bull ride,
climb, rip, surf, split wood, ride, sting). The wrappers are
typical for energy bars, being a printed plastic/foil composite.
The varieties and a list of key information for each are:

The Honey Stinger protein bars are available in 3 flavors, and I have
been furnished two of the Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Pro and Dark
Chocolate Coconut Almond Pro and three of the Peanut Butta Pro
flavor. Information provided by the manufacturer indicates they
contain organic honey, 23 vitamins and minerals, 20 g whey protein, and
non Gluten ingredients. The bars are packaged and labeled
similarly to the energy bars, stating they contain milk, soy, peanut
and other nuts, with an added stamp that they may contain egg and
wheat. Key facts and ingredients for each are:

I weighed each bar on a postal scale, and while most weighed very close
to the stated net weight, there was a little variance in weight between
them. In only two cases did a bar weigh less than the stated net
weight; one Peanut Butter Honey energy bar weighed .05 oz (1.4 g) less
and one Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond protein bar weighed 0.1 oz (2.8 g
less. Most of the bars weighed slightly more than the listed net
weight, with the largest variance in one Peanut Butta Pro protein bar
which weighed 0.25 oz (7 g) more than the listed weight. Most
weighed about .05 oz (1.4 g) than the stated net weight. Since I
used a postal scale rather than a scientifically calibrated food scale,
the small variances seem reasonable.

Honey Stinger also provided information concerning research done on
honey, which states in part the following information:

"Honey can operate as a time released fuel for
exercising muscles"
"Honey does not cause hypoglycemia, or a blood sugar
spike and crash, because of its naturally low glycemic index."
"Honey, a natural source of carbohydrates, can
significantly improve endurance performance"

The fact sheet provides scientific information on different types of
sugar (simple and complex and their sub-categories), and their effect
on athletic performance in some studies. I found the information
very interesting, and was surprised to learn that honey is a simple
sugar that is easier to digest than complex sugars, allowing it to
start providing energy quickly; and yet it has a low glycemic index,
producing only mild increases in blood sugar and insulin, and providing
sustained energy. This is of particular interest to me because I
follow a controlled carbohydrate diet and avoid eating sugar. I
should be able to put this claim to a good test, and am anxious to
start testing whether the Honey Stinger bars can provide me quick
energy for uphills without the 'crash and burn' effect that candy bars
sometimes cause.

It has been a real temptation not to 'taste test' a few of these bars,
but in the interest of testing them in a true hiking or backpacking
situation, I've managed to exert the necessary willpower so far.
I certainly do look forward to trying them out on my next hike in the
near future.

Long Term Report - May 14, 2008

Field Conditions:

During the test period, I have eaten the Honey Stinger Energy and
Protein Bars on a series of day hikes ranging from 3 to 11 mi (5 to 18
km), and an overnight backpacking trip of about 6 mi (10 km).

These trips have included seven short 3 mi/5 km hikes in western West
Virginia on old dirt and rock back roads in a variety of weather
conditions (from windy with small amounts of rain or snow to dry and
calm) and temperatures ranging from around 25 F (-4 C) to 60 F (15 C)
at elevations around 700 to 900 ft (200 to 300 m). On each of
these trips I ate one bar, usually an energy bar, but on two of them I
ate a Peanut Butta Pro Bar (shown to the left here).

Longer
trips included about 6.5
mi (10.5 km) in the
Kanawha State Forest in central West Virginia, on a cloudy but dry day
with temperatures in the
25 F (-4 C) range at elevations from around 1000 to 1400 ft (300 to 400
m). Trails varied from smooth dirt to rugged rocky areas. I
had eaten a big breakfast about an hour before beginning to hike, and
on the hike ate one of the Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond Pro bars
(shown to the right) sharing a few bites with my daughter, on a short
break about 2/3 of the way through the trip. This gave me plenty
of energy to finish the hike, and I was not hungry until a couple of
hours after hiking.

A second longer hike was in Wine
Cellar Park near Dunbar West Virginia, consisting of around 4 mi/6.5
km. The day was sunny and around 50 F (10 C). Elevation was
moderate, but included some steep up and down hills. I had eaten
a moderate breakfast and ate one of the Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond
Pro bars (sharing a bite with a friend) on a break about halfway
through the trip. Again I had ample energy to hike without
needing any extra snacks and was not hungry until about an hour after
finishing the hike.

An
additional longer trip was an 11 mi/18 km section hike on the
Appalachian trail in early April, from McQueen Gap, TN to Damascus, VA
which included drizzly rain and fog all
morning, with clearing skies in the early afternoon, and temperatures
around the 50-60 F
(10-15 C) range. The trail was mostly smooth dirt with gentle ups
and downs, with a few rockier stretches and one longish, but fairly
gradual downhill stretch into Damascus. I ate one Peanut Butter
'n Honey Energy Bar
around 8 am while hiking, shortly after a breakfast of sugar-free
Carnation Instant Breakfast, which gave me good energy until around
10:30 am when
I began feeling a little tired and hungry. I ate a Peanut Butta
Pro Bar around 10:30 am (again while hiking) and had good energy for
about 2
hours. Around 12:30 am I ate a Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Pro
(shown to the left) while hiking, which held me till I finished my
hike into Damascus. I was slightly hungry after the hike
concluded around 2:30 pm and had some fresh cut up veggies that a kind
trail angel had brought to the hostel where I was overnighting.

I also
ate one bar on an overnight backpacking trip in mid-April in the North
Bend State Park area in central West Virginia. Temperatures on
this trip ranged from around 50-60 F (10-15 C) with pleasant, partially
cloudy weather. The trail was dirt interspersed with roots and
rocks. The trip started in late afternoon. During the day I
had eaten a light breakfast, a light lunch, and a light snack. I
ate an Apple Cinnamon Energy Bar (shown to the right) on a short break
a
couple of miles into the trip, which provided ample energy for a short
uphill climb, and I wasn't hungry for a couple of hours afterward.

Taste impressions:

It has been really hard for me to pick a favorite flavor in this
test. They have all been pretty good, and I seemed to enjoy
different flavors better under different conditions. If I had to
pick just one, the Berry Banana Buzz would probably be my bar of flavor
choice. Since I generally avoid sugar, the bars have all had a
very sweet taste to me. The protein bars in particular tasted
more like candy bars than energy bars, and left a sweet taste in my
mouth after eating them.

Both the
Peanut Butter 'n Honey bar (shown to the left) and the
Peanut Butta Pro have a strong honey taste. The Peanut Butter 'n
Honey bar has a good texture, with a slight amount of chewiness.
The Peanut Butta Pro has a smoother, yet firm and slightly dry
texture. The Dark
Chocolate Cherry Almond Pro bar has a relatively firm texture with bits
of nuts and dried cherries, and tastes very much like a chocolate
covered cherry. The Dark Chocolate Coconut Almond bar had a very
pleasant chocolaty taste and also a fairly firm and very slightly chewy
texture. The coconut was not a very prominent taste in this
bar.

The Berry Banana Buzz Energy Bars had a texture almost like a slightly
chewy cookie, and tasted somewhat like banana bread with a slight hint
of the strawberry flavor. The white yogurt coating on the bottom
enhanced the flavor of the bar. I could taste a bit of the honey
flavor, but it was not as prominent in this bar as in the other
flavors. The Rocket Chocolate (shown below to the right) had a
slightly chewy texture and a blend of chocolate and honey taste.
A lot of the time I find purely chocolate energy bars too rich tasting,
but I was happy with the flavor of this bar. The Apple Cinnamon
was my least favorite bar. I found it chewier, and somewhat dry
and bland for my taste.

The
bars all looked appealing. When I hiked with close friends (or
family), they were usually very interested in the bars and I ended up
sharing bites twice. Although in the sake of testing I
would have preferred eating the whole bar (really, it wasn't that I wanted to be greedy and eat it all
myself - it was all for the sake of testing), it was really hard to
ignore those 'give me a bite' looks.

Energy impressions:

I found the energy from the bars kicks in quickly, within just a few
minutes, and seems to drop
slightly after about 30 minutes, yet still staving off hunger and
providing sufficient energy for another 90 minutes or so, for a total
of about 2 hours energy per bar. This did not seem to vary much
for me between the energy bars and the larger protein bars, which I
guess was probably from my selection of the bar size to fit my
particular hunger at the time, since the protein bars have considerably
more calories.

I was particularly pleased that just as Honey Stinger advertises, I did
not experience a 'spike and crash' effect with the bars. They
truly do seem to be low glycemic.

Summary:

This was one tasty test, and I am very happy with both the taste and
performance of the bars. I did not experience very hot
temperatures when I carried the bars, so I can't speak for how well
they hold up to heat, but even in colder temperatures the bars were
easy to eat - just a bit firmer to bite. I didn't have any
actually freeze, but this is not normally a huge problem for me - if my
bars get too cold overnight, I just place them in a pocket in the
morning so they thaw out and get softer before I have to eat them.

One thing I really liked was the way the bars were easy to eat.
None of them were overly chewy. I could bite off small pieces and
easily eat them even while hiking uphill, so I could get an easy energy
boost any time I needed it. This is quite a contrast to other
energy bars, which generally are so chewy that I have a difficult time
eating them while hiking, especially when hiking uphill.

The bars are simple to pack along and I feel they provide good energy
for the weight carried. Happily they can be ordered directly from
the Honey Stinger website, so I don't have to look around to try to
find these bars in a store (outfitters are scarce in my area). I
plan to order a case or two of the bars in the near future for my
summer hiking needs.

This concludes the test series.

Thanks to Honey Stinger and BackpackGearTest.org
for
the
opportunity to test the Honey Stinger energy and protein bars.

Product tested and reviewed in each Formal Test Report has been provided free of charge by the manufacturer to BackpackGearTest.org. Upon completion of the Test Series the writer is permitted to keep the product. Owner Reviews are based on product owned by the reviewer personally unless otherwise noted.